Watching Mat
by Alabaster86
Summary: As her companion Mat struggles during battle, Azula watches, contemplates her relationship with him and how she has changed over the past few weeks.  Written as a companion piece to flamehead23a's 'The Avatar Saga: Azula's Redemption'.


A/N: Part of flamehead23a's really awesome 'The Avatar Saga: Azula's Redemption'' Universe and written as a request for him. I highly doubt that I've done his story any justice, but my attempt was valiant. And if you have not read his story, do yourself a favor….go do so now. He is an excellent writer and if you're an Azula fan at all, you will enjoy his story (still ongoing btw). You can find it here and on deviant art (probably a better place to read it as there is artwork and music to go along with the story). Mat is an OC who has spent a few weeks with Azula, and seen her at her best and at her worst.

Watching Mat

Azula had never seen him helpless before, all his skills and all his power useless in the face of those horrible puppet-men that the strange woman controlled. It was disconcerting. No, it was more than that. It was frightening.

Was she frightened because deep down, she felt the tiniest bit of concern for the strange man who called himself Mat? She _did_ flinch when the puppet-men made contact with his body, sending him flying through the air, his ordinary frame obviously taking a terrible beating. She could almost feel his pain. And Azula didn't like pain.

The thought that she might care for Mat was almost as frightening as the spectacle before her. Caring was dangerous. Caring only got you hurt in the end. Caring and love, they were for the weak, weren't they? Or was that simply what her father had pummeled into her head from a far too tender age? Did she care for Zuko or Mai? Did she hope for their future as well as her own?

It was all so damned confusing. There was something to be said for cold detachment. Decisions were easy to make. The mind remained uncluttered and clear in its goals. She recalled when the entire world and all of the people in it were simply pieces in her game, a game that at one time she had intended to win. But her life was different now. Her talk with Roku had brought that home more than anything. He didn't despise her, this great grandfather of hers. He cared, despite all her transgressions. He believed that Azula would do the right thing, would help their fragile world right itself. That faith warmed her inside. It made her want to do right, not to be a mushy do gooder, but to stand up when it really mattered.

She had power and she had skills. They should be used for something and now, she had a real purpose. After five years in the cooler at the Boiling Rock, after five years of barely existing, she was truly alive again. Azula had a very strong suspicion that serving the world rather than wanting to crush it beneath her feet, would help her maintain that glorious feeling of life.

Alone, waiting for her moment, analyzing the situation, the princess considered Mat once more. Agni, he was infuriating, insufferable almost. Most of the time she spent with him consisted of walking about with clenched fists and a clenched jaw, the urge to strike out almost overwhelming at times. Oh, he knew _so_ damn much. He was _so_ special, with his 'outsider' powers and his 'outsider' knowledge. And she was just one of many people he had helped in his strange career of meddling.

Then he would say something that struck home so forcefully she almost collapsed from the weight of that truth. The very fact that he could affect her like that too, only served to make her angrier. She didn't like losing her footing, whether for real or in the metaphorical sense. Azula had always enjoyed being the one in control, the one to knock others out of their comfortable little spaces. Being on the other end was humbling; Azula did _not_ do humble well.

Still, and despite all that, there were times when the princess enjoyed verbally sparring with him. He was intelligent enough and insightful and he _did_ care. And she found herself growing just a little bit attached to Mat. She would miss him when this entire mess was over and he needed to move on. And Azula did not want to see him die. That she was certain of.

"Just another few minutes," she whispered as Mat continued to suffer down along the shoreline, his pain and fear obvious now to anyone watching. The princess flinched as he took a particularly hard blow. Her body edged forwards just a bit, tense and ready for a fight. "I'm coming, Mat."

Brushing stray bits of hair out of her determined amber eyes, Azula made her way down to the water.


End file.
